Hey guys, can you post pics of your Z with winter wheels/tires? Thanks.

 

I'll be getting my Blizzak LM-22 225/45/18 on all four tires tomorrow. The guy said that it would take around an hour because of the Ray rims. It's a shame that I haven't driven enough to really feel how the stock summer tires really performs when the gas pedal is fully depressed, oh well, just have to wait till spring next year.
Amigliet, I did go to Wheel and Tires, but they were a little more expensive than another tire dealer closer to my area, plus I pay $350 for having all my tires changed every season for the next five years, and balanced too, which is a pretty good deal considering it costs around $20 per tire per season(that's $160 a year).

 

Let us know how it goes with the 225/45/18's all around in regards to speedo error and TSC/VDC thinking that the rear wheels are going faster then stock. Thanks

 

myZ350,

I went with new rims as well, I do not want to run the stock rays rims in the winter (they would get abused to much). Also, you need a bit of Italian blood in you, nogotiate the price and then pay cash for everything!! You will never find a better deal than that.. I would recommend that you buy a second set of rims instead of having to take rubber on and off and balance every 6 months... seems like a lot of work

 

I think I am going down to 16" for the winter. The 225/50/17 (Front) and 245/50/17 (Rear) combination yield the least speedo error - 0.57% see attachment; however, the 215/60/16 (Front) and 225/60/16 (Rear) combination is a nice compromise since it would cost half the 17"s and only having a 0.9% error on the speedo.

What do you all think ?

 

Yikes, I would hate to go down two inches for 5 months of the year. Aparently Nissan may have pressured Bridgestone into rushing production of a 245/45/18 LM22. I just got an e-mail from Bridgestone saying that production has started and that they will notify me when they become available. Stay tuned!

 

yikes, thats even scarier,, i dont wanna buy any tire that has been "rushed",, firestone anyone?

hey you w/ the 16's,, ya i'm talkin to you,, you gonna have enough clearance for the caliper? better measure !

 

I wouldnt be too worried. These are high performance tires with a very strong sidewall. Besides, the LM22 is already a proven tire in its construction.
Good call on the caliper clearence. I think the non brembo cars would be fine with 16". Are you going with 16" steel wheels?

 

Anyone know what size offset to get with the 16" wheels? Does 40mm work for 16x7 wheels? Thanks.

 

i wasnt only refering to the clearance from facing side of caliper to wheel, but also the top... the circumference (inner) of the wheel,, will it fit?

edit: circumference, hmm i did take geometry once, and i dunno what i was thinkin,, but not the right term.. ok will the radius from the middle of wheel to inner side of rim clear the middle of brake to outter part of caliper,, i'm sure you know what i mean. .... will the wheel spin freely?

 

No bobbyz, no steel 16" wheels for me. Found some 16" wheels for 350z on discounttire.com, probably will pick one of those.

 

Nah . . . most cars come today w/ a 7 year/unlimited mile rust warranty. So long as you keep the car clean, the salt presents few probs.

Anyway, anyone going to try putting a set of michelin pilot sport a/s on? The tires aren't made in the stock size for the 18" wheels, but the closest in 245/40/18 fr and 255/45/18 rr.

Where is speedo measured . . . front wheels? Anyone know if the comp. can be easily re-calibrated for different size tires? The 245/40/18's have approx. the same diameter as stock, but would it be too wide for up front? The bigger prob. is the rear tires . . . a half inch taller than stock and a 2/5 inch wider. Plus, the width ratio front to back is not the same as stock.

 

It's starting to snow here so I won't be driving the Z. Besides, it's more fun to drive beater cars and work on left foot braking (fwd) and rally techniques without the anxiety of wrecking a new car.

They don't salt the roads here. They use ethylene glycol or some sort of chemical. Glycol is as about as inert as it gets but for some reason, whatever they are using, it attacks aluminum. It's probably safe for steel but it pits and corrodes aluminum. You can see when they are using it because the road always looks wet.

Glycol, salt, sand or what not, snow beats the crap out of cars. Snow is nice for snowboarding though.

koryo

 

Hey man,

Why did you choose Pilot Alpines? Do you know any good reviews/comparison with Blizzaks and other choises?

Also should I look for exact match for my
225/50 - 17
235/50 - 17
rims, or some small difference is okay?

Finally I have an idea to buy dirt chip metal 16" rims with good tires, and it'll be cheaper then just 17 tires, and will let me save the good rims for summer. Any cons to that idea?

Thanks,

 

I will be picking up my car this Friday...finally. My excitement is dampened by the fact that it is starting to get cold and it has been snowing intermittently within the past two weeks. There is a chance of snow the day I am picking it up. I intially planned to drive it intermittently during light snowing days but after reading Zboy's misfortune I don't think I will take it out at all even with winter tires. Hopefully I will be able to drive it home from the dealership.

Excellent thread! I am glad you have posted it.

 

Yeah.. we get snow.. and when I go to work it just might be still on the road.. and yes.. I know how to drive in it but.. I know for sure that the people around my believe snow is the devils work and spin round and round and round.. so... When theres the possibility of snow or frozen devil water around.. the Ram comes out to play...

Good luck to all driving in the snow... I miss it sometimes....

EZ